Michigan City
Coaling Tower

Michigan City, Indiana

02/16/25

As the industrial landscape of the United States shifts, infrastructure seen as revolutionary at the time becomes outdated quickly. Standing at roughly 100 feet tall, the Michigan City Coaling Tower was a pioneer of its time, only to fade into obscurity.

The coaling tower was built all the way back in 1923. Back then, the Michigan Central Railroad commissioned the structure because it was kind of a pain to load coal into train cars. Trains would have to divert to a separate track just for loading.​ This is where the Michigan City Coaling Tower really made its mark. Trains could avoid diversions by simply rolling underneath it. The tower was so advanced, it had the capacity to deal with four trains simultaneously.

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But design firm, Robinson Shader Co. of Chicago, wasn't finished innovating. The tower also used a bucket system. Inside the hoist house was a small cubby, where trains unloaded coal into a bucket. This bucket would rise to the top of the tower, before being poured inside the coal hopper. The coal would then be crushed for easier use, though this process would be skipped for rush orders. When it was time to load a train, gravity would do the rest of the work.​

Calling it just a coaling tower wouldn't be correct, this structure could do much more. The tower could dump sand to improve track friction and traction during bad weather. It even came with a built in dust collector to reduce pollutants. Though the reason the coaling tower is in such good shape today, was because the design was so compact it produced little to no vibrations. Thus dramatically increasing the structure's lifetime

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Except, as good as the coaling tower was, if there’s no train to service, it’s a waste of money. After World War II, the usage of diesel locomotives boomed, dramatically reducing coal usage. Thus the coaling tower sat vacant. Demolition was avoided since it It wasn’t technically in the way of anything. A proposed demolition on October 27 of 2010 went nowhere and the structure continued to dominate the skyline.

As time passed though, the structure’s wear became more and more evident. Amtrak, the line’s owner, grew worried about falling concrete striking the active train line below. In September of 2025, the structure was demolished. During demolition, the company had to close a section of the track and bus people to the next station. In a bid to save money, Amtrak applied for a noise ordinance exception to remove the structure in only 14 days. Many local residents wanted to preserve the site, but the change.org petition couldn’t sway the company.

REFERENCES

“100-Year-Old Michigan City Coaling Tower to Be Torn Down as Some Community Members Push Back.” ABC57 News, www.abc57.com/news/100-year-old-michigan-city-coaling-tower-to-be-torn-down-as-some-community-members-push-back
 

“Amtrak Planning to Tear Down Michigan City, Ind., Coaling Tower.” Trains, www.trains.com/trn/news-reviews/news-wire/amtrak-planning-to-tear-down-michigan-city-ind-coaling-tower/
 

“Amtrak Wants to Demolish Historic Michigan City Coal Tower Along Train Route.” Inside Indiana Business,
www.insideindianabusiness.com/articles/amtrak-wants-to-demolish-historic-michigan-city-coal-tower-along-train-route
 

“Change.org Petition: Preserve the Century-Old Michigan Central Railroad Coaling Tower.” Change.org,
www.change.org/p/preserve-the-century-old-michigan-central-railroad-coaling-tower
 

“Michigan Central’s Coal Tower (Michigan City, IN).” TM Books and Video Wiki,
tm-books-and-video.fandom.com/wiki/Michigan_Central%27s_Coal_Tower_(Michigan_City,_IN)

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The Beacher, Sept. 2015,
www.thebeacher.com/2016/ewExternalFiles/BeacherSep15.pdf
 

“Hometown News Now: Michigan City Coaling Tower Coverage.” Hometown News Now,
hometownnewsnow.com/local-news/769653